The second installment of the epic picks up where the first left off: the travellers have split up into three groups, each making their own way. We follow the adventures of each group, culminating in a decisive battle. Frodo faces the temptation of using the ring's power to help himself. A great many new characters are introduced this time, and an old one returns...
179 minutes, Mature Accompaniment under 10
Action, Drama, Male conflict & bonding
Ian Douglas: I suppose I will be crucified again this year for these comments, but hey, you want my honest opinion, don't you?
Well, on the positive side, the scenery is very spectacular.... Also the computer-generated armies and other effects. The
production values are very well done. On the negative side, I was completely lost in the beginning. I was hoping that
they would have had some sort of ''Previously on Lord of the Rings ..'' intro, but they didn't. I had forgotten
that the travellers had split up, and couldn't figure out where half the people were. Things got worse when they
suddenly started introducing new characters, and I couldn't figure out whether I was meant to recognise them or not...
Anyway, I eventually got the gist of what was happening...
The film has more war sequences than the first episode. The Gollum thing looks like a close relative of Dobby from
Harry Potter. I still can't understand why they have these powerful wizards, but still need to fight battles the hard
way. Also, the main characters lead such invincible lives while killing scores of enemies, it's unbelievable. They don't sweat
or mess up their hair, and hardly ever get even minor injuries. It also seems to me that the other main baddie was mysteriously
missing. Maybe he died last time, or ended up on the cutting room floor. But there only seems to be ONE tower in this TWO TOWERS
movie...
And lastly, this is a three hour epic, so go easy on the Coke before the show... FWIW, I checked the time after 90 minutes,
indicating I was bored and wondering how much longer this thing was going to go on...
